Reliance Infra files Rs 13,400 crore claim against Adani Transmission

Anil Ambani Infrastructure (R-Infra) has filed an international arbitration claim worth Rs 13,400 crore (USD 1.7 billion) against Adani Transmission before the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration.

In a regulatory filing on September 9, Reliance Infrastructure said the arbitration claim relates to what is described as a breach of the terms of a December 2017 share purchase agreement with Adani Transmission related to the transfer of power distribution business in Mumbai.

"The financial implications cannot be ascertained and depend on the final outcome of the arbitration and subsequent legal challenges," Reliance Infrastructure said in its statement.

Reliance Infrastructure and Adani Transmission have not responded to an email sent as of press time. On Friday, shares of Reliance Infrastructure closed at USD 162.45, down 9.90% from BSE, while shares of Adani Transmission closed at USD 3,931.65 each, up 0.18%.

In 2017, Adani Group acquired R-Infra (then Reliance Energy) in Mumbai, including generation, distribution and transmission, in a deal worth Rs 18,800 crore. The deal gave the Adani Group a foothold in the distribution business, helping it grow from a generation and transmission company to a fully integrated power facility. Adani Transmission is the largest private power transmission and distribution entity in India.

Reliance Energy has served almost three million consumers in Mumbai. The deal was meant to help Reliance Infra wrote off its Rs 15,000 crore debt, leaving it with Rs 3,000 crore in surplus funds. In the regulatory filing, the company did not disclose the nature of the alleged breach of contract.

MCIA aims to be India's premier forum for the resolution of commercial disputes.        

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